Stillmeadow Friends

Dearest Susan...

Happy Easter!! Happy Spring!!

Just when you think Winter might go on endlessly, Robins appear and buds begin to pop up through the snow. And as for today, 'tis Easter Morn!!

I'm about to head outside and hide Easter eggs that the girls and Erik and their Aunt Mimi colored. For this reason, I can't stay and write a great long letter this morning. Instead, I'm planning to add little bits as the day goes on. As well as the real colored eggs, I have the little plastic ones that I've filled with candies and coins for the girls. The coins will go right into the little jars that they keep on the shelf in their room. Secretly, they're saving for a horse!! I say this with a smile because although it's a "secret", they've told everyone that I can think of.

It's grey and cloudy here this morning, and it's supposed to rain later. I'm crossing fingers and hoping that it stays away till all the eggs are in!!

I must go for now...but I'll be back to share the menu for today's meal with you.

Love, Shelley

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Dear Susan...

It's 1 pm as I add this. The girls had a grand time first going through their baskets and then rushing out of doors to a countdown of ONE, TWO, THREE...GO!! Even in my sleepy state I managed to hide them well as I had to direct the girls to the last few eggs!! Cassandra tried on her new purple skirt with the butter yellow top. What fun spring colors. Rebecca cozied up on the sofa and decided to watch the movie that was tucked into her basket. I think the day has caught up with her already. Her eyes are sleepy.

It's tradition that I name all of the turkeys on the menu...but with Easter we cook a ham. Tradition now dictates that Cassandra names the hams. So, without further delay I am here to tell you that this year's ham is...(drum roll please!!)...PERCITONE. Now, I have no clue how she came up with that, but Percitone it is.

Both girls are so easy to love Susan, and I think of what a void they've filled in my heart. As with any starting over relationship, their time is shared and as they head to their other home for the afternoon, I smile and give them hugs telling them that I'll miss them. Cassandra tells me that they'll be back on Tuesday and that's only two days away. She is a half full type of person today. I asked Erik to leave the Easter grass right where it was...all over the floor. 'Tis Easter afterall, and it's nice to know that two little girls laughed and giggled and counted eggs just this morning.

I am off to the kitchen to ready Percitone for his big moment.

The rest of the menu will come later!!

Love, Shelley

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Dear Susan...

It's nearly 5 pm and the Scalloped Potatoes are waiting in line to go in the oven. With the Smoked Ham along side bubbling and smelling like Heaven itself we'll be more than ready to sit and enjoy the meal. The ham is covered with cloves and it will simmer and cook in ginger ale. Mmmmm!!

For dessert, which is in the oven as I write we'll be having Gingerbread Pudding with a Cranberry Ginger Sauce. Miriam has brought yummy salad and Foccacia Bread (one of my favorites!!). We've already brought the water to a boil for tea!! I think a day that calls for more than one sitting of tea is a fine one indeed.

We're listening to music as we enjoy one another's company. I've sent greetings to some friends today, and I've heard back from them. It's amazing to me how our backyards are a little closer than they used to be thanks to this wonderful medium we call the Internet. I wonder how our Gladys would have liked this Susan?? She'd have fussed at first, but I think in the end she'd have joined in, don't you??

I'm going to go and sit cozy for a few minutes before something needs to come out of and go into the oven!!

Love, Shelley

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Dear Susan...

Dinner is past and dessert and tea are overwith too. It's time now for us to sit comfy and wind down. I wasn't feeling tired until I sat down to write you this last little bit for the day. Holidays are like that. We try to squeeze every last drop out of the day. Meanwhile we've had a good homey holiday with family and I think if you can say that at the end of the day you've done well. Isn't that how you feel too Susan??

'Tis time now to sit quiet.

Before I close for the night though...one more chance for me to say...

Happy Easter Susan.

Love, Shelley

Dear Susan...

Hello my friend. It's been a few days since I've heard from you and I must confess that I've had visions of you buried outside under all of that snow!! In this vision Jenny is bravely digging you out while Miss Emma watches curiously from the window.

All silliness aside...how are you Susan?? I hope that you're well and that your days are filled with sweetness.

It's Monday once more, and thus another week begins. I've already taken Erik to the station for his morning commute into the city and judging by the clock (6:59 am) he'll be reaching his office within the next twenty minutes or so. During the weekdays our routines are quite well established. When the alarm goes off at 5:15 am, it sets into motion a series of events that are followed almost to the letter. Clothes are set out, breakfast if packed while coffee (stronger on the weekdays) is brewing. With one vehicle it becomes necessary for me to drop off and pick up Erik at the station. It's a time for us to catch the news stories and weather reports. Besides, that kiss at the station is pretty nice too!!

We had a lovely weekend here in the Hudson Valley Susan. We awoke to another 5 inches of snow on the ground but with warmer temperatures so we knew it wouldn't last. After a yummy breakfast of french toast, maple sausages, orange juice and coffee (not quite as strong on the weekends) Erik and I started off on an adventure. We drove along Bear Mountain Parkway which for a time parallels the Hudson River. Erik surprised me with a stop at the Peekskill train station. It's right along the river and there is a lovely park there with benches and little walkways along the water and a play area for children. I'd never been there before and oh, Susan it was delightful. Not only do you have a tremendous view of Bear Mountain but the park is situated right where the river makes a bend and then meanders on its way. We watched the gulls come and go and follow anyone that looked as if they had food!! A man did come with food just for them and they absolutely swarmed him!! It was sunny and bright and pleasant and it seemed that all the birds were out. One of the trees that was covered with dried berries there were perhaps a dozen Cedar Waxwings enjoying a lunch by the water. What pretty birds they are all decked out in their finery. Some kind soul even offered to take our picture together. It's nice to know that there are still good neighbors in the world.

We continued winding our way through the countryside and we passed old homes made from stone surrounded by giant trees that were no doubt planted when the houses were new. Old rock fences that would have once outlined farmland now seem to corral the trees. Life continued despite them Susan. They remind me of New England, and that is a pleasant thing.

Ending up in near Poughkeepsie we arrived at a furniture store. I've been wanting two chairs for my craft table for quite some time and Erik decided that this was as good a day as any to bring them home. I found two almost right away that I liked. They're American country style with honey colored seats and white pickled legs and backs. They're pretty AND serviceable too. With the chairs packed into the back, we began the journey home.

Deciding that we were both hungry a stop at The Stadium http://www.stadiumbarrest.com/ was in order. They have great food ranging from simple hotdogs to lavish steaks, as well as being home to some incredible sports memorabelia!! Getting there on a Saturday afternoon was an interesting treat. Not only did we have one of the dining rooms to ourselves but we could if we chose look at as much as we wished without bothering other diners!! (A first!!)

As fun as it is to go places, returning home is one of the nicest things I know. Scooter was happy to see us and he had a grand time sniffing the new chairs; sitting first on one and then the other.

Our weekend came to a close as weekends tend to do. The memories are nicely tucked away, to be enjoyed anytime that I wish. The chairs, I've decided need a nicely organized table to preside over...thus my chore for today.

I have a feeling that you got snow over the weekend too and although I could consult the weather reports, I'd rather hear firsthand so I'll await your report dear friend of mine.

Write soon.

Love and hugs...

Shelley
Ossining, New York
ps...you can see the photos from the weekend at our website: http://www.erikandshelley.com. Click on "Photo Album of the Month".

Dear Susan...

Saturdays are sweet days. For one thing, the alarm is never allowed to go off at 5:15 am. Never. If it didn't get better than that, it would still be a sweet day. It does get better though.

We usually take Cassandra and Rebecca to breakfast on Saturday morning, and this is something that they enjoy and look forward to. They scramble into the car and without missing a beat they ask where we're headed. Now they know that we're going to breakfast, but they want to know the exact location. Isn't this always the way with little girls?? I don't seem to remember my brothers being as curious about such things. Perhaps my memory is clouded, but I do think that little girls are just naturally full of questions. Was Sarah like that Susan?? Were you?? I'm almost certain that I wearied my own Mom and Papa to tears with questions.

Today was no exception to our breakfast out but this week we headed into White Plains to the City Limits Diner. http://www.citylimitsdiner.com/ This is an incredible restaurant that is a modern slice of Americana. Fresh baked breads and desserts that make your mouth water are only two of the things that draw us back time after time. When you walk through the doors, the whole place is alive with activity; bustling waiters and people headed this way and that and although the dining room is very large, there is still a home-town diner feel. I think this is one of the big draws for us.

The girls were so tickled when we got there Susan. It made me smile that something so simple could make them that happy. Daddy had the Country Breakfast. I had a lovely Orange Lemon Waffle with fresh fruit and maple syrup. It was heavenly. Cassandra chose French Toast and Rebecca had Strawberries and some of Daddy's bacon.

Now I'd like to tell you that we had great and grand plans for the day, but in reality we didn't. Perhaps that's why the day was so sweet afterall. Following breakfast, we stopped at the grocery store picking up a few things and then we drove home playing Twenty Questions with the girls. This is their latest thing to do in the car Susan. Rebecca is famous for giving up...and then answering the next time round. She is the quintessential seven year old and she makes us laugh.

We had a quiet day today and it was bliss. I managed to catch up on some ironing and Erik worked on some photos and then he and I made lunch together. The girls played in their room and then watched a movie with their Daddy. Scooter was the lazy one in the bunch Susan. He slept almost the entire day away.

I guess it's days like this that we look forward to and days like this that in the end, we remember most. My own Papa worked so hard all week and he always looked forward to those sweet Saturdays. Sometimes we would go somewhere special...sometimes we'd stay home and Papa would work in the yard or he'd fix something around the house. He'd always make time for me though...just like Erik makes time for the girls. It's good to know that some things -- some Daddys -- never change.

Why do I think that your Daddy was the same way Susan?? Is it that special relationship that Daddys and Daughters have?? I like to think so.

Tomorrow is another day. I'm sure that it will be a good day, but oh, I don't know if it can top today.

Take care Susan.

Lots of Love,

Shelley
Ossining, NY

"The past is a foreign country, they did things differently then".
"The Go Between" by L.P. Hartley.

Dear Shelley,

When I was a little girl growing up in North Wales, the winters were much snowier then than they are nowadays. To see the mundane grey winter roads and gardens and slate rooftops transformed into a white fairytale wonderland was utter ecstasy and felt like birthdays and Christmas all rolled into one and then doubled.

Just thinking about it now takes me back over the years and to when I was a child in Aston Grove.

I can still hear my father saying, "Its warmed up a bit and I think we're in for some snow"!

And at the first mention of the word, like a sentry, I would watch the laden, buttermilk-tinted clouds in anticipation of that all amazing and absolutely magical, first flake.. Then I'd run into the house shouting, "It's snowing!, It's snowing"! My mother would take a swift look outside and remark, "Just a few flurries that's all - I hope it doesn't get any worse".

Nothing could dampen my excitement. I'd watch the six o'clock news with eyes peeled for Michael Fish the weatherman to place that all important white cardboard snowflake exactly on our spot on the left side of the U.K. map. SNOW...6 inches...YES!!!!

Then I would shoot off upstairs to signal the news with my friend Linda who lived right across from me, but didn't have a television. We learned morse code together so we could "talk" to each other at night from our bedroom windows, flashlights blinking on and off, to and fro. Tonight we decided was a great night to make lollipops on our bedroom windowsills. There was no central heating then and our rooms were cold, so a cup of fruit juice would turn into a frozen treat by morning.

Sleep was out of the question just yet, so after the flashlight had been put away and bedtime declared, I would stand quietly shivering in my flannel nightgown, scraping jack-frost patterns from off the window pane, cold bare feet on icy linoleum, watching the snow fall silently in the glow of the street light. Life, I thought, just doesn't get better than this.

I would be up with the dawn in the morning, no need to wake me up today and even with the curtains closed, the bright white silence in my room tells me what is waiting outside... Bliss.

With a breakfast of Scott's Porridge Oats to warm the inside of me, and dressed in several layers of clothes under my tightly zipped blue quilted anorak and thickly socked feet stuffed into shiny wellington boots, my hand knitted pom-pom hatted head would be outside almost before the rest of me, a carrot in one mittened fist and two small lumps of coal in the other. A lovely snowman was to be the first order of the day, and then I'd be off sledding with my friends down a steep hill close-by. I always prayed my brother Peter wouldn't turn up because he always pushed me too hard and made me go flying through the air tumbling over and over, knocking the wind out of me

Then there was snow-angel making in Carole's front garden and sharing a bag of slightly limp chips kindly supplied by someone's mother. Well sprinkled with salt and vinegar and wrapped in grease-proof paper and damply steaming newspaper, nothing ever tasted better.

Later on, tired and frozen I would be hauled inside for hot Ovaltine, wet wooly mittens drying on the hearth by the fire, and dire warnings that my fingers could drop off if I ever did that again, but I always did...

Sometimes the snow would melt by the next day, but if it re-froze again, well, that was Heavenly too because that meant ICE and sliding all the way home from school, and sucking on drippy, slightly gritty icycles broken off the shed roof, and then getting shouted at for climbing up there by our neighbor, Mr. Williams the policeman...I was terrified of him, but that's another story and many confiscated tennis balls ago.

Such memories Shelley. In those days life came to a standstill when we had snow. Our town didn't have a plough. People left their cars or bicycles parked at the house and walked to work if it was close enough. Women made do with the food that they had in their kitchen cabinet, and kindly lent a cup of sugar or jug of milk to a neighbor who needed it and It was always dutifully returned. People watched out for one another and truly cared. (sometimes they also knew a bit too much of everyone's business!!) In years, it's not so very long ago, but it was such a different world then.

I'm glad that Scooter liked Emma's letter. Cats are something aren't they? Emma treats me exactly the same way. With just one look she has this gift of making me feel guilty or inferior and sometimes both at the same time!!

I'm glad you got the cookbook. I've got two of hers and love to go through them and read all the comments. I've made a lot of her recipes too. Have you made her blueberry muffins?!

Oh I'm like you in the fact that I want to try to get everthing done at once, but I find when I try to do that I achieve less than if I set a few goals, one day at a time. But being a natural procrastinator I always tell myself I'll get it done tomorrow :)

Well, I'm off to the real world again now, vacuum and then stoke up the woodstove and on to the supermarket.

Take care Shelley and lots of love,
Susan
XXXXX
New Boston,
New Hampshire.

Dear Susan...

Snow has fallen in the Hudson Valley and once more our landscape is pure white. Monday night we sat inside watching the flakes fall with a steady rythm. There is magic in a snowfall like that. You know full well that in the morning the commute will be horrible and the road slippery, yet while it is coming down it has the ability to lull you to another time...quieter and a little more peaceful. It can captivate you if you let it. One of my favorite teachers in high school used to tell me that he loved the times when nature showed her strength. He said that he liked to know that there were powers that he had no power over. I've often thought about that when the snow falls. We truly have no power over how much falls and when.

The drive up the Taconic Parkway to work on Tuesday was a pretty one. The trees were ladened with heavy snow and the branches were bent with the weight of it. The Canada geese seemed to be out flying everywhere. Perhaps they were enjoying the sight of the new snow too. I suppose that it's hard to say, but it only makes sense to me that the G-d who made them would give them the ability to appreciate beauty around them.

I truly enjoyed Emma's letter Susan, and I've read and reread it quietly smiling to myself each time. What miracles our pets are. Don't you agree?? They ask so little of us, and yet the love that they give back is a thousandfold. I actually read Emma's letter to Scooter and he sat on my lap and listened intently, purring all the way through. He seemed quite pleased that his "cousin" is living such a happy life in New Hampshire. When I'd finished reading, he stepped up onto the desk and I showed him Emma's photos. He looked at me as if to say, "Well thank you...but I already knew what she looked like." Cats.

Speaking of Scooter, I took him to the vet last week. He didn't quite seem himself and he'd become almost sluggish within a couple of days. The vet was very impressed with his size. He now weighs in at 20.1 lbs!! He decided that Scooter should take a week's worth of antibiotics to get rid of whatever bug was bothering him. I'm delighted to tell you that within about three days he was back to his bouncy perky self.

Tomorrow I get to do the thing that I love the most. I'll be home and tending to the things that need tending!! I keep reminding myself that I need to pace my steps and set a few atainable goals for the day. Where along this life's journey did it happen?? When was that moment between "I can do it all in one day" and "I don't seem to be able to do it all in one day anymore". Was there a moment?? If there was, why wasn't there some sort of fanfare?? It would seem to me that if we're going to have these milestones in our lives that we should be able to at least do it with a bit of flair.

I was finally able to get a copy of "My Own Cook Book" by our own dear Gladys Taber. Oh Susan, I was on the verge of giddy when it came in the post. It's a lovely copy with a nice tight binding. I find it great fun to sit down in the afternoon with a cup of tea and pour over a couple of pages worth of recipes. Like the tea, I take pleasure in savoring it. I quite enjoy Gladys' comments that accompany the recipes. They're like little vignettes of her life...tiny insights if you will...and altogether precious.

It's almost 11 pm and it's been a long day. I tried to get all of my errands done this afternoon after work so that I have no "running" to do tomorrow. I think I'll have a cup of tea right now before I head off to bed.

Sleep well my dear friend.

Love, Shelley
Ossining, New York